The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency changed with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety.

On Tuesday, July 11, 2006, about 5:06 p.m., central daylight time, the last car of northbound Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train number 220 derailed in the subway between the Clark/Lake and Grand/Milwaukee stations in downtown Chicago, Illinois. About 1,000 passengers were on board the eight-car rapid transit train. Following the derailment, the train came to a stop, and electrical arcing between the last car and the 600-volt direct current third rail generated smoke. The single operator in the lead car received a number of calls on the train intercom. The operator exited the control compartment, stepped onto the catwalk, and walked beside the train to investigate.

In April 1999, the National Transportation Safety Board began a Truck/Bus Safety Initiative and to date has held four public hearings to obtain information from a variety of sources about the relevant safety issues regarding trucks and buses and on how to address them. Participating in these hearings were representatives from the truck and bus industries, vehicle and equipment manufacturers, labor unions, safety advocacy groups, and various State and Federal agencies.

On January 7, 2007, about 3:45 p.m. eastern standard time, northbound Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Metrorail train 504 derailed one car as the train traversed a crossover from track 2 to track 1. The accident occurred in an underground tunnel on the Metrorail Green Line near the Mt. Vernon Square 7th Street-Convention Center station at chain marker E2 23+28. The train was traveling about 18 mph as it approached the station. The train consisted of six cars. The fifth car from the head end of the train derailed. About 80 passengers were on board at the time of the accident. Twenty-three passengers were transported to local hospitals for treatment and released. Emergency response personnel from Washington, D.C., provided the on-scene treatment and transportation of the injured passengers.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety. The Board investigates accidents, conducts safety studies, evaluates the effectiveness of other government agencies' programs for preventing transportation accidents, and reviews the appeals of enforcement actions involving airman and seaman certificates issues by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard and civil penalty actions taken by the FAA.

This special investigation report looks at one of the most serious types of highway accidents-collisions involving vehicles traveling the wrong way on high-speed divided highways. The goal of this investigative project is to identify relevant safety recommendations to prevent wrong-way collisions on such highways and access ramps. The investigations included in the report take a focused view of the driver and highway issues affecting wrong-way collisions. The report addresses the following safety issues concerning wrong-way driving: driver impairment, primarily from alcohol use, with consideration of older driver issues and possible drug involvement; the need to establish, through traffic control devices and highway design, distinctly different views for motorists approaching entrance and exit ramps; monitoring and intervention programs for wrong-way collisions; and in-vehicle driver support systems.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety. The Board investigates accidents, conducts safety studies, evaluates the effectiveness of other government agencies' programs for preventing transportation accidents, and reviews the appeals of enforcement actions involving airman and seaman certificates issues by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard and civil penalty actions taken by the FAA.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety. The Board investigates accidents, conducts safety studies, evaluates the effectiveness of other government agencies' programs for preventing transpor tation accidents, and reviews the appeals of enforcement actions involving airman and seaman certificates issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and civil penalty actions taken by the FAA.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency charged with deterring the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety.

Virtually all commercial trucks, drivers, and motor carriers are subject to safety regulation. Those operating in interstate commerce are subject to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the Hazardous Material Regulations as well as to State laws and regulations.

Since its inception, the National Transportation Safety Board has been concerned about the evacuation of commercial airplanes in the event of an emergency. Several accidents investigated by the Safety Board in the last decade that involved emergency evacuations prompted the Safety Board to conduct a study on the evacuation of commercial airplanes. The study described in this report is the first prospective study of emergency evacuation of commercial airplanes. For the study, the Safety Board investigated 46 evacuations that occurred between September 1997 and June 1999 that involved 2,651 passengers. Eighteen different aircraft types were represented in the study. Based on information collected from the passengers, the flight attendants, the flight crews, the air carriers, and the aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) units, the Safety Board examined the following safety issues in the study: (a) certification issues related to airplane evacuation, (b) the effectiveness of evacuation equipment, (c) the adequacy of air carrier and ARFF guidance and procedures related to evacuations, and (d) communication issues related to evacuations. The study also compiled some general statistics on evacuations, including the number of evacuations and the types and number of passenger injuries incurred during evacuations. As a result of the study, the National Transportation Safety Board issued 20 safety recommendations and reiterated 3 safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Motorcoach safety has received increased public attention after several serious accidents during 2011, some of which involved curbside carriers. As a result, the National Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation of motorcoach safety with an emphasis on curbside operations. The objectives of the investigation were to (1) describe the characteristics of the curbside business model among interstate motorcoach carriers; (2) describe the safety record of interstate motorcoach carriers, including those that use a curbside business model; and (3) evaluate the adequacy of safety oversight for interstate motorcoach carriers using a curbside business model. This report focuses primarily on those issues that pertain only to curbside operations.

About 7:00 p.m, . central standard time, on December 20, 1998, National Railroad Passenger Corporation train No. 21, the Texas Eagle, derailed on Union Pacific Railroad tracks in Arlington, Texas. Train 21 was en route from Chicago, Illinois, to San Antonio, Texas. The train was traveling westbound at a reduced speed of about 36 mph due to reports of rough track near milepost 231. Three locomotives and six cars derailed in a curve at milepost 230.62. Of the 198 passengers and 18 employees on the train, 12 passengers and 10 employees were injured. No fatalities resulted from the accident. The damages were estimated at about $1.4 million

This safety report represents the culmination of a year-long National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) effort focused on the problem of substance-impaired driving. The report addresses the necessity of providing all the following elements to achieve meaningful reductions in alcohol-impaired driving crashes: stronger laws, improved enforcement strategies, innovative adjudication programs, and accelerated development of new in-vehicle alcohol detection technologies. Moreover, the report recognizes the need for states to identify specific and measurable goals for reducing impaired driving fatalities and injuries, and to evaluate the effectiveness of implemented countermeasures on an ongoing basis.

This report is the third in a three-part series describing the technical contributions of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) to the UIC/WEC (International Union of Railways/World Executive Council) joint research project on Rail Defect Management. The first two reports presented correlations between engineering calculations and rail defect growth test data generated under laboratory and field test conditions. This report discusses some of the applications of these engineering analyses to rail defect management. These applications include: (1) determining rail inspection frequencies based on track condition and usage, (2) estimating limits for rail head wear based on fracture mechanics principles, and (3) applying risk analysis to evaluate different strategies for controlling the risk of rail failures.

This report is the second in a three-part series describing the technical contributions of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Vole Center) to the UIC/WEC (International Union of Railways/World Executive Council) joint research project on Rail Defect Management. Specifically, this report describes engineering analyses that are used to examine the growth of internal rail defects that were tested under field conditions. The first report in this series describes similar engineering analyses that were conducted to examine the growth of internal rail defects tested under laboratory conditions. The third report discusses some applications of the rail defect modelling work.

This project addresses the various transportation issues involving Shenandoah National Park, helps to facilitate the participation of Shenandoah National Park in regional traveler-information systems, addresses various access and safety issues at some of Shenandoah's main attractions, and helps to provide a better understanding of the socioeconomic conditions and trends in the Shenandoah Valley region that may potentially influence current and future visitation. Key findings and future directions are summarized below.

NPS, as part of their General Management Plan (GMP) realignment, worked with Volpe to develop a series of alternative transportation methods in Valley Forge National Historical Park. Automobiles are the predominant means of transportation in the park, posing a threat to the preservation of park resources and pristine quality. Suggested alternatives to automobile transport include shuttle buses and similar efforts that reduce the need for automobile travel within the park. Beyond relieving congestion, alternative modes of transportation allow the visitor more options in terms of guided tours. This report presents an overview of the current transportation system at Valley Forge. Alternative solutions and an analysis of the impacts on ridership are presented. A cost analysis is done with regards to implementing the shuttle bus. Finally, an implementation strategy is set forth.

The Guide to Transportation Management Center (TMC) Data Capture for Performance and Mobility Measures is a two-volume document consisting of this summary Guidebook and a Reference Manual. These documents provide technical guidance and recommended practices regarding concepts, methods, techniques, and procedures for collecting, analyzing, and archiving TMC operations data to develop measures of roadway and TMC performance, as well as documenting the benefits of TMC activities for a variety of stakeholders. This guide is designed to be used by TMC technical and management staff involved in developing, implementing, and/or refining a TMC performance monitoring program.